Happy New Year, artists! I have a raffle in mind for you!


F R E E

It's free to enter! Just do a couple of easy things before Jan 27th 2012, 1800 Mountain Standard Time
Time's up! The Raffle is now CLOSED!



PRIZE: $200 SHOPPING SPREE

Shopping spree!! You make a wish list at www.dickblick.com , and I'll buy it for you, up to $200. :) (EDIT: if you are international and there are issues getting stuff to you from them, we can work something out)


P I T C H :: Why I'm doing this

First of all, I want to draw attention to the new rules at Anthrocon's 2012 Artists' Alley. They changed a lot, so I want to be sure everyone who might be interested gets a chance to look at them ahead of time! In particular, this year you will need to sign up ON LINE, BEFORE THE CON. No more at-con lottery. No more at-con craziness every morning.

And with that PSA out of the way, on to the real reason I'm doing this:

January is now the unofficial month for me showing my appreciation for the artists in the community (aside from the usual thing, in the form of commissions). January 2012 marks the end of my 20th year in this fandom, so it's an appropriate time time to start a tradition to celebrate and share the love!

You artists contribute so much to the community, beyond just what you do to make a buck. There's a vim to your vibe that I think is the engine for this fandom. I love that about you. There's this ripple effect I see echoing from what you do, from how you act and feel in your posts, from the art you draw, the stuff you craft, and the cheer you bring to each customer and friend with your creations.

The world needs more of that. The world needs more of you.

Throughout 2011, you've put up with all sorts of stress and change and drama and annoyances. Some more than others. Y'know that one customer who constantly asks for more free changes? Y'know that one dude who was all pissy about how you drew too many toes on his 8-limbed character who is NOT a spider? Y'know that one gal who complained 'cause you didn't deliver the art on time, even though she didn't give you a deadline?

Yeah, you've put up with all sorts of grief. Well, here's a little something to balance that. It's after the holidays, y'all have gotten your gifts. Now it's time for one more. =)


R U L E S

Entering is easy. Just follow these 3 simple steps:

(1) be a furry/anthro artist
(2) fill out a really short form
(3) post a comment here

The deadline is Jan 27th 2012, 1800 Mountain Standard Time (that's Jan 28th, 0100 GMT) EDIT: Time's up!

Here, let me elaborate:

(1) :: This is for artists only. You must be an artist who has done at least one public 'furry' or 'anthro' commission for someone in the past year. A 'public' commission is a piece of art you did for someone else that you shared with the community in some way (like an FA submission, DA submission, forum post, print sales, etc). This is for artists only. And by 'artist' I mean to include crafters, musicians, and writers, too, not just the visual folks. If you're just a fan/follower/watcher/dabbler like me, don't enter. I'll have another thing coming up soon where you'll get a chance at some free art. :)

(2) :: You must fill out THIS FORM before the deadline. (EDIT: using a form now, instead of email; for the few folks who did email I will manually put your info into the form). Notes and comments do not count as entries. In that form you'll be asked for:
FA/DA/etc Name:
Link to your FA/DA/etc site:
Link to one public commission you did in 2011:
(if applicable*) Link to one commission/freebie you did for me before the raffle:

(3) :: Post a comment here saying "I filled out the form", and also link me to zero or more of your favorite artists. And if you're open for commissions, feel free to give yourself a shout-out in your comment. :)

Do those things, and you get 1 entry in the raffle! :)

* - Possible +2 BONUS! If you have done a commission or freebie art for me at any time before this journal is posted, you get TWO EXTRA entries in the raffle! That's a total of 3 entries! You still have to do step 2 and 3 to enter. DO NOT give me art now just to claim this bonus! It won't count! I'm not doing this to solicit freebies. I won't/can't stop you, of course, I'm just saying that doing so after this post won't earn you bonus points for this raffle.


R A N D O M I N G

If I have an ulterior motive here, it's to test out the randomization method I'll be using for the Artists' Alley table assignments for AC 2012 this year. If you haven't already done so, go check out http://anthrocon.org/alley to see the new rules!

To ensure maximum fairness, here's what I'll do. First, shortly after the deadline, I'll post the list of entrants in a new journal, just so everyone can check it over and make sure they're on it if they think they should be (and that they got 3 entries, if they are qualified). I'll leave that list up for a few days for people to check it over. Then on Groundhog Day (Feb 2nd), I'll use random.org's list randomizer, using the pregenerated randomization from that day, 2012-02-02. Whoever is at the top of the randomized list wins. :)

The idea here is that anyone will be able to repeat the drawing and get the same results -- they just feed in the posted list, and select the right date for the pregenerated randomness. This proves fairness beyond reasonable doubt!


D I S C L O S U R E

This raffle is completely unaffiliated with Anthrocon itself. This is totally my personal doing, and my personal funding. I did not coordinate with them on this in any way. Beyond just wanting to express some good will toward artists in general, as the Artists' Alley manager at Anthrocon I just wanted to avoid some at-con insanity by spreading the word about the big rules changes and lottery signup changes.

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That's it!
Thank you so much to all the artists in this fandom. You all rock. :)